2021 Lake Vermilion Fishing Reports

[StateofHockey]

Anyone else getting excited about some open water walleye fishing starting this Saturday? I'm expecting Vermilion to be quieter then a "normal" opener and the forecast looks cold but it will be fun to be out in the Lund with my wife chasing willy walleye none the less.

[SkunkedAgain]

Definitely excited

[FishinCT]

Fishing license sales are up 45% year over year. I wouldn’t bet on it being a slow opener on the lake just yet

[SkunkedAgain]

My guess is that sales are up because it was one of the few outdoor activities that the governor specifically encouraged people to do during the lockdown. Most people are still skittish about traveling very far from home. Some plan to be respectful of communities that don't have the resources to deal with virus issues.

 

With Vermilion being more remote, I fully expect the boat traffic to be quite a bit less than usual. I expect that lakes in the metro will be inundated with fishermen who might otherwise have traveled to rural lakes and resorts. That's just my projection.

[FishinCT]

I tend to agree with that but will be interesting to see. If the weather was forecast to be 70 instead of 40 it could be a much different story. 

 

Lakes have been packed so far out here so I’m still not putting it past anyone regardless of weather. 

 

 

[SkunkedAgain]

True. I hadn't even considered the weather. It's opener weather!

 

I'll be out there but with a MUCH smaller group than usually comes up.

[Wanderer]

Big Stone Lake all spring so far.  People be goin’ fishin’.  Time on their hands and stimulus cash in pocket; would we really expect it to be quiet?

 

[FishinCT]

2 hours ago, Wanderer said:

Big Stone Lake all spring so far.  People be goin’ fishin’.  Time on their hands and stimulus cash in pocket; would we really expect it to be quiet?

 

Exactly what I’ve seen around me. And I haven’t even gone to the busy lakes

[Pat McGraw]

StateofHockey, Welcome! What part of the lake are you on? We're on Frazer Bay.

[Pat McGraw]

I'll 2nd SkunkedAgain's sentiment regarding the safety of the smaller communities. When we visit Cook and Tower establishments we will be wearing masks and maintaining distance. Best of luck all and be safe.

[BigVTim]

Hey Everyone! New to the forum and Vermilion area. I'm on the west end in Larson's bay. Thanks for all the good info. I'll be up there this weekend and looking forward to some crisp air. I've been out on the St Croix in Hudson and it has been very busy down here. Water temp already around 60. Walleye bite is great down here on minnows and a simple Lindy with a hook with a bead. Hoping the cold front doesn't turn everything off. Packing a Steak just in case... Tight lines! I'll share any reports as hopefully they start biting on the V.

 

Tim

[SkunkedAgain]

Welcome newcomers. There is a TON of information on the Vermilion forum from some of the top guides and fishermen. There is more than a decade of great fishing information to read if you've got the time. Feel free to post and join the online community. 
 

Larsons Bay is right by Ludlow's, correct? You're in a great spot with quick access to Wakemup Bay or Wolf Bay. There is a lot of fishing in your future.

[BigVTim]

Thank you Skunked. Yes sir. Easy access to all parts of the lake. Thanks for the welcome. I've been up to the lake just visiting since 2015 but finally bought land. Hired a guide a few years back in late season and was surprised the productivity of lead core trolling. I've heard it's hard to beat a slow moving Lindy this time of year or trolling shallows, so that's what I'm trying first.

[JerkinLips]

On 5/6/2020 at 8:43 AM, StateofHockey said:

I'm expecting Vermilion to be quieter then a "normal" opener and the forecast looks cold

 

Lots of boats being towed around in Soudan Wednesday and Thursday.  Driving between Soudan and Cloquet 9-10pm last night I would guess that 1 of 3 vehicles I saw going north were towing boats.  I think Vermilion will be very busy on opening weekend.  I haven't fished Vermilion on opening weekend in over a decade to avoid the crowds and think this year will be worse than normal.  And it will be quite cold up there also (20s for lows plus windy).  Good luck fishing to those that make it out, and practice social separation as best as possible.

[StateofHockey]

I'd say about average number of boats. Fished near trout river this morning and boated a few. Nice sunshine if you have some protection from the wind.

[delcecchi]

On 5/8/2020 at 8:43 AM, BigVTim said:

Thank you Skunked. Yes sir. Easy access to all parts of the lake. Thanks for the welcome. I've been up to the lake just visiting since 2015 but finally bought land. Hired a guide a few years back in late season and was surprised the productivity of lead core trolling. I've heard it's hard to beat a slow moving Lindy this time of year or trolling shallows, so that's what I'm trying first.

If you read some of the older reports, Cliff the famous was big on jig and minnow in deep water this  time of year as I recall.

[CigarGuy]

We ended up with only 1 walleye (over) for 5 guys and 27 crappies. Weather was definitely more tolerable today. Yesterday was miserable.

[BWpineisland]

We boated about 30 walleyes. Jigs and rainbows. Several in the 17-18 inch range. 

[james_walleye]

Nice BW! Honestly it was the worst butt kicking I've taken on this lake. 

[StateofHockey]

Wind and cold made conditions tough but we did alright on numbers, mainly in 30 fow. Size ran small, caught some 6", biggest was only 15".

[adrenalinejunky]

We boated 40+ kept a 3 man limit of 13-16 inchers on opening morning. Lots of 12-12.5 inch fish. Was one of the best openers we’ve had for quality and quantity.  Jig with rainbows and chubs did the trick.  Limited out in 3 hrs. Sure hope this is a sign of a good upcoming season.

[BigVTim]

Well the weather was definitely a test this weekend. Still beautiful nonetheless. Ended up slow, but some action. Lots of boats in Black Bay and Norwegian bay all the way back. One nice 23+ fat female in the channel. Sunday brought a few more fish, caught on wind-blown shorelines (south) in about 19 FOW on Lindy and a fathead. Sounds like rainbows are the ticket. No luck jigging but maybe I wasn't deep enough. Also- Saw a Coyote forging Norwegian bay out in the middle. What a sight and quite the swim.

[SkunkedAgain]

Four of us got two walleye Saturday, both caught dragging raps. I caught a nice 13" crappie on a rap which was a nice surprise. Lots of pike. We never ventured to deep spots but ran lindy's and slip bobbers in the 10-20ft range. Tough opener but that's why there is a long fishing season.

[chucker1101]

4 walleyes on Saturday - (2 17", 2 13")

7 walleyes on Sunday, and one huge Perch - ( 6 12-14", 1 dink)

 

All fish caught using lindy rig with rainbows, somewhere in Big Bay   Fish were deeper than i expected, most coming in 27-32' of water. The two 17" bigger Saturday fish were at 20'

 

Coldest opener i can remember, though i've skipped a few due to lateness of ice out date. Sunday especially reminded me of late fall fishing - cold, windy, cloudy

[DLD24]

Did anyone try fishing shallow and have any success. Vermilion seems to have my number and I typically fish deep, so I want to mix it up and try shallow 12ft and under. The girlfriends dad puts on a little tourney this weekend every year, my ego cant take another last place finish ;).

[RoosterMan]

I thought minus the cold on Sunday.  It was a great opener.  We filled out with nice eater fish for the four of us. We even had some giant jumbos.  I have not seen jumbos this big in Vermilion in many many years.  Had two 23”s as well.  Glad to be back on open water.  Caught fish from 6’ to 32’ of water. Jig and minnow.  The smaller minnows worked best we discovered in our boat.  

[SkunkedAgain]

Great photo of the little guy. The smile says it all.

 

We mostly fished shallow to mid-depths thinking that the walleye were still holding in the warmer waters. It sounds like they might have headed deeper and that's where people were having the most success. I'm just going by what I've read here. We never dunked a minnow deeper than 17 or 18ft so that might have been our problem. It's supposed to warm up this weekend so those wacky walleye may be up to something totally different! Embrace the chase.

[RoosterMan]

Skunked. He definitely was pumped. His skill level from last year to this has been a quantum leap.  Definitely fun.  

[Sorgy]

I think the shallow water bite was definitely off due to the Cold Front of the Decade! I expect the Shallow bite to pick up as we start to stabilize and warm the waters. The water temps up in black bay were easily in the 55 degree temps around Friday and by Sunday evening they were down to 52. It definitely affected the crappies and Walleyes were very tight lipped.

I got setup and started trolling just before 5 AM Saturday and boated my first walleye of the year at 5:02 a feisty little skipper of a walleye all of 10" in length.

I thought as I headed away from the dock that morning that it could really suck but catching that fish so quickly fooled me into thinking it was game on. WRONG! That was my only walleye of the weekend- however with reports from several friends and relatives that were fishing I was very comfortable sleeping in on Sunday and getting some jobs done around the cabin. I fished Saturday and Sunday evening for Walleye and both afternoons for a few crappies. There was a bit of a window on Saturday afternoon where guy's picked up a few fish trolling shallow.

I saw a grand total of 1 walleye netted. My friends who fish hard caught a total of 5 walleyes for weekend. All in all it was a very tough bite and will certainly pick up as we start warming up.

 

Good Luck

 

Steve

 

[FishinCT]

The shallow bite was definitely not off this weekend. They weren’t everywhere shallow but they were there and the size was nice. Saturday we got a dozen-kept 7 between 14-17” threw back 3 13s and got a 21” apiece. Ate some that night then went back out Sunday and finished the limit with 4 16-17” fish and added another 21”. All slip bobbers in 3-6’ of water. Wind blown points. Did some exploring after that out deep. Nonstop action in 30+ with a lindy or jig but size is just not great out there unless you really want to sort.